Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to implement a new referral to treatment pathway for patients with severe aortic stenosis.

We have no specific plans to do so as there is an existing referral to treatment pathway for patients with severe aortic stenosis. The National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support improvements to the care pathway from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and end of life care.

We have committed £2.3 billion to launch at least 100 community diagnostic centres by 2024/25, to improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease in England.

Adults requiring an aortic valve replacement will be assessed to determine the appropriate procedure. Treatment usually involves surgical aortic valve replacement or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Cardiac centres have increased the number of TAVI procedures, which have a lower requirement for intensive care beds and a shorter length of stay in hospital.